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Today, I took my mother to the hospital. It has been almost a year since she was rushed to the emergency room last July with fluid in her lungs. Since then, I have accompanied her to the university hospital almost every month. I still remember that night vividly. It was just three days before my wife and I were scheduled to leave for Canada. A little after 11 p.m., I noticed a voicemail from my mother.She was not the type of person to call that late.I immediately sensed somet

There was a time when I regularly held workshops all over Japan—in Fukuoka, Osaka, Sendai, and even Hokkaido. Most of the venues were found online, and I quickly discovered that photographs can be deceiving. Places that looked wonderful in pictures often felt completely different in person. It wasn’t necessarily about the size of the room or the facilities. Some places simply felt uncomfortable, while others left people feeling strangely tired. Because of that, choosing the r

“Sensei, what kind of sensei are you, exactly?” A client asked me that question the other day. In Japan, the word sensei can refer to many different kinds of teachers, practitioners, experts, and professionals—not only medical doctors. And honestly, it was a fair question. I describe what I do as bodywork or holistic treatment, but I don’t hold any formal medical license. I’m not an acupuncturist. I’m not a physical therapist. I’m not a chiropractor. I’m certainly not a physi

This happened about five or six years ago. One day, an elderly woman came to my clinic accompanied by her daughter. I honestly don't remember exactly what symptoms had brought her there. As usual, I checked her condition, performed the treatment, and finished the session. Then, just as I said, “Please take your time and slowly sit up,” something unexpected happened. ⸻ “Sensei, my pants are falling down!” she exclaimed in a panic. At first, I thought she was joking. Then I won

There was only one time when I held a free trial session. About four people attended. Among them was a married couple. The wife was living with a rare disease called EGPA (Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis). She relied on a wheelchair whenever she went out, and her husband accompanied her that day. I simply did what I always do. About twenty minutes later, something happened. Her husband folded up the wheelchair, and she walked out on her own. To be completely hon

It happened some time after our training workshops had begun in earnest. As usual, I was demonstrating treatment techniques and guiding the participants when one trainee raised a hand. “My son has schizophrenia. I want to do something to help him.” That was the question. Without thinking too deeply about it, I replied, “Would you like to try a proxy treatment?” Whether the idea came to me in that moment or whether I had already been experimenting with it from time to time, I

This happened when I had only just begun doing this work. The man came to my salon only once. He had suffered a stroke and wanted to improve the lingering effects, even if only a little. But I never saw him again. So I have no idea what became of him. What I do remember, however, is a story he told me that has stayed with me ever since. The circumstances surrounding his stroke were unusual in themselves. He had gone to visit a friend in the hospital. As he was leaving the par

Yesterday, a client came to my studio carrying a CS60. The CS60 is a metal device, sold with the promise that "hold this, and anyone can become a god-handed healer." I used it myself, from 2018 to 2022. So I know its strengths and its weaknesses. ⸻ But there was one thing that always sat wrong with me. It was a person doing the work — and yet, whenever results came, the story became, "The CS60 is amazing." ⸻ And there was something else. The treatment is only a matter of stro

The other day, a thought crossed my mind. The phrase “So what?” may be one of the most destructive weapons in human language. Imagine that there is something you are deeply passionate about right now. It could be your work. A hobby. A dream that has shaped your life. You sit down with a friend, a partner, or a colleague and begin talking about it. Why you chose this path. What kind of future you hope to create. How much effort and sacrifice it has taken to get this far. After

My name is Yuki Matsuoka, founder of KaradaNaoru. Having worked with more than 3,000 people through my bodywork practice, I often find myself returning to the same realization. People frequently ask me: “Can you cure cancer?” “Can you cure leukemia?” Whenever I hear these questions, I find myself thinking the same thing. I am not looking at the disease. I am looking at the person. ⸻ Symptoms Alone Tell Me Very Little No two people are the same, even if they share the same dia

Tonight, I’m going to Ginza to have yakiniku with Sergio. Or, more accurately, I’m going to be treated to yakiniku. Sergio comes to Japan from Mexico about once a year, and every time he does, he takes me out for something delicious. We’ve known each other for more than ten years now. We first met when I was living in Mexico City. Back then, we weren’t especially close. Still, whenever we met, we would talk about all sorts of things, and occasionally we’d end up having drinks

Back when I was still living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I discovered a service called Couchsurfing. The idea was simple: if you had an empty couch or spare room, you could host travelers from around the world. And when you traveled abroad yourself, someone else might host you in return. This was long before Airbnb became mainstream — it was a far more idealistic and almost pastoral kind of platform. I loved the concept immediately, so I decided to open up my home in Buenos A

Accompanying a Mother from Hyogo Yesterday, a client came all the way from Hyogo Prefecture. She had booked her very first Zoom session with me the previous week, and after feeling satisfied with the results, she decided to visit in person this time together with her mother. Her mother, in her late seventies, had recently become unsteady on her feet and had already suffered two falls. She had bolts in her back and metal implants in her hip. In many ways, her body had been thr

A tango-loving woman from Kyoto had been asking me for some time, “Could you teach me Diego & Aldana’s technique?” So the other day, I finally did. Diego & Aldana are, without exaggeration, among the most popular tango dancers in the world today. They were the winners of the 2025 World Tango Championship and now tour internationally across the globe. Their studio is located in Yutenji, Tokyo. I used to live in Nakameguro, close enough to walk there, and I had already been tak

Yuki Matsuoka, founder of KaradaNaoru, here. In the previous article,“‘He Has a Selfless Heart’ — The Beginning of KaradaNaoru (1),”I wrote about the intense bodywork teacher I encountered in my twenties. This time, I would like to continue the story by writing about my family — especially my father. Born in Arashiyama, Kyoto Whenever people ask where I’m from and I answer,“Arashiyama, Kyoto,”they usually react with envy. But in reality, Kyoto is a basin. The summers are hu

People sometimes ask me how I first entered this world. It began when I was still in my twenties. I had just returned from London and was calling myself a “freelance photographer,” although in reality I barely had any work and spent most of my time drifting aimlessly. Around that time, my mother discovered a certain bodywork teacher, and I began attending her workshops regularly. Originally, she practiced fairly ordinary physical therapy. But before long, her methods evolved

Earlier today, while speaking with one of my longtime clients, I suddenly remembered another client from years ago. “How is that French chef from Nishiazabu doing these days?” I asked. “He’s doing extremely well,” the client replied. Hearing that made me genuinely happy. In the end, that chef only visited my salon once. And yet, I still remember him vividly. From the moment he opened the door to the Meguro salon, I felt something unusual. As I focused more carefully, it felt

This happened not long after I started this work. It was about eight years ago. Back then, I wasn’t yet able to sense things as specifically as I sometimes do now. Still, every once in a while, there were people who felt somehow unusual the moment they entered the room. One day, a middle-aged man came to the salon. He wasn’t particularly large or physically intimidating. Just an average build with nothing especially remarkable about his appearance. And yet, the moment I touch

There is a man named Mr. Isoe who travels every month from Kitami, Hokkaido, to my salon in Meguro, Tokyo. He is a highly respected engineering Ph.D. who even wrote a testimonial for the KaradaNaoru website. But he was not always healthy. Originally, he had suffered for years from severe unexplained dizziness. Standing was difficult. Even sitting was painful. Despite being in such a serious condition, every hospital he visited reportedly told him there was “nothing abnormal.”

It all started because yesterday happened to be my day off, and I noticed that my father-in-law had written “grass cutting” on the whiteboard where he keeps track of his schedule. My wife and I decided to join him. My wife had participated the previous time as well, so it felt awkward to be the only one out of the three not helping. Once I decided to join, I figured I had better work seriously. At 192 cm tall, I stand out enough already. So I threw myself into cutting grass w